Florence Pugh produces and stars in Universal Pictures’ murder mystery “The Maid”, based on Nita Prose’s debut novel of the same name.
Universal announced on Wednesday that it had acquired the rights to “The Maid,” which will be released in 2022 through Penguin Random House in the US and Canada, and HarperFiction in the UK.
The studio said the story contains elements of Gail Honeyman’s “Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine” with an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery. It’s about Molly the maid, who leaves every room perfect and pristine as she learns every guest’s dirty secrets, and investigates Molly’s descent into the murderous underbelly of her gilded workplace.
Pugh’s producers are Josh McLaughlin and Chris Goldberg, who produce through their companies Wink Pictures and Winterlight Pictures respectively. Prose will also serve as an executive producer. The deal was negotiated by ICM Partners on behalf of the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency.
Pugh received an Academy Award nomination in the supporting actor category for her portrayal of Amy March in Little Women. She won a British Independent Film Award for 2016’s ‘Lady Macbeth’ and the Trophée Chopard at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Pugh will play the next star in Marvel’s “Black Widow,” which opens in May 2021. She recently began production as the female lead in “Don’t Worry Darling” for New Line, directed by Olivia Wilde.
The book’s author, Nita Pronovost (writes as Nita Prose), is vice president and editor-in-chief at Simon & Schuster Canada. McLaughlin launched Wink Pictures with a blanket deal with Focus / Universal to produce projects for both film and television. He has made a film with Lulu Wang, an adaptation of the podcast “Bagman” with Ben Stiller as director, and a film about the relationship between Carol Burnett and her daughter Carrie.
Universal’s Senior VP of Production Jeyun Munford and Creative Executive Christine Sun will supervise the photo on behalf of the studio.
Prose is represented by Madeleine Milburn at MM Agency. Pugh is represented by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Curtis Brown. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.